Ponch and Nikki
by Ponchygirl
Summary: Ponch falls in love with a nurse at Rampart, they begin dating and as Ponch gets to know her more he is so in love he's sure she's the one he's meant to be with. One day he finds out that Nikki wants to end her life...Can Ponch convince her to talk to hi
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: Warning for some suicidal thoughts and an attempt. Self-harm is also included._

 _Disclaimer:I don't own CHiPs._

Why me? Why me? Why!? Those few words just kept running through Nikki Mitchell's mind. She was staring at the computer screen in front of her. She wanted to throw the computer across the room but the noise of that would wake up her older sister Brandi. Brandi was older by about a minute. They were twins, but not identical twins. In Nikki's mind Brandi was much much prettier. But in all honesty both girls were beautiful. Nikki had long wavy dark silky hair it went down past her waist. Brandi had long dark red hair it went down to about her the middle of her back. It was also wavy. She died it a darker red color because she liked that. Both girls were about 5'4 130lbs. They were small young women, in their lower twenties. Both blessed with smooth sun kissed tan skin.

Nikki hated the way she looked. She thought Brandi looked better than her. She wished she was Brandi. And tonight while on social media all she could find were people commenting on how pretty her sister was. Nikki logged out of twitter because it was depressing, Instagram was worse, and then when she got on her Facebook she wanted to scream. Nikki rarely posted a picture of herself anyway so that explained a little as to why no one ever said anything, but seeing all these pictures and these comments all about her sister was driving her crazy!

Nikki and Brandi although sisters not by choice, it was something that God had chosen to happen…but just because they were sisters didn't mean they couldn't be friends. Like lots of people had said to them over the years 'sisters can't be friends' they were friends…not only that they were best friends. Nikki loved her sister like crazy! But just like friends or sisters they had their own fights. Nikki was proud to say that she did have one more friend other than Brandi. Her name was Amber. Amber had been friends with both sisters for years, ever since they started pre-school.

Nikki slowly got up from her chair, grabbed her laptop, and walked to her bedroom. She set her laptop on the dresser and shut it off.

"Nikki?" Brandi asked tiredly as she walked into the room rubbing her tired eyes. "Why you still up, girl?" she asked with a yawn and a stretch.

Nikki smiled and sat down on her bed. "I don't know, couldn't sleep I guess," she replied.

Brandi nodded "Ok then." She started to walk out of the room.

Nikki was thankful for that, she laid down and covered up under her covers.

oOoOo

Nikki slowly pulled herself out of bed. "Well…I guess this is about the right time to get up." She walked towards the kitchen, and saw Brandi running around trying to make breakfast, while doing her hair at the same time.

"We're gonna be late for work if you don't get ready now, Nikki," she said with a bobby pin in her mouth.

Nikki took a quick bite of Brandi's toast then ran to her room to get dressed and do her hair. In no time both sisters were out the door and on their way to work.

 _Meanwhile in another part of town_

Ponch was just finishing up his ding dong just after briefing. It was about seven-fifty in the morning.

"Hey, Baker you ready for today? I have a feeling it's gonna be a good one," he asked with a huge smile.

"You and your feelings," Jon mumbled as he and Ponch exited the building and went to their motorcycles. Ponch was smiling the whole time. "What, you meet a girl or something?" Jon asked.

"Well…uh do you remember that nurse in ICU…Nikki Mitchell?" Ponch asked.

"Oh the one you've been flirting with every time you see her?" Jon asked.

"Yeah…uh anyway…she friended me on Facebook last night…" Ponch started a smile creeping on his face. "She said I looked cute in my profile picture that I just updated this morning before briefing…and you know what else?"

"Oh I'm sure you'll tell me whether I wanna know or not," Jon teased.

Ponch rolled his eyes. "We chatted a bit today…she said we could go out tonight."

"Wow what a surprise…you've got a date on Friday night," Jon said with a grin. "You could've said that and spared all the details, partner…and before you ask yes I'm still going out with Brandi. We can make it a double date tonight too if you want."

"You read my mind, Jon. Thanks!" Ponch said strapping on his helmet then starting his motorcycle. "Let's get to work, partner!"


	2. Chapter 2

Nikki and Brandi sat in the break room waiting for Ponch and Jon. It wasn't exactly the most romantic date to begin with, but they loved the guys too much to care about that. Just as long as they saw each other it was all good. Brandi was sitting at the table looking at her fingernails she had just painted them the night before, and they were starting to chip already. She didn't care all that much. She wasn't big into all that make up, and doing nails, like other women. Nikki was so not into that either in fact, she didn't even own a thing of nail polish, let alone a single make up anything. No lip gloss, eye liner, no nothing. She didn't own any make up! Brandi did have a few things though. She didn't use them much, but she did own a few things. Just for special occasions such as seeing Jon.

The room was a little cold, and Nikki shivered and pulled on her sweater that Brandi insisted she bring along. Nikki didn't think she needed it, but Brandi knew her sister well enough to know that she got cold easily at night, so she made her dress as if it were going to be chilly.

Soon the door swung open, and someone came in, then the door closed and Ponch was leaning against it keeping it closed. He was laughing like crazy as he did it. Brandi and Nikkie were confused.

"Ponch, what did you do?" Nikki asked knowing something was going on.

"Nothing," Ponch replied. He was trying to catch his breath. Then he looked and saw Jon in the doorway at the window. He was making a fist at Ponch.

"What did you say to him?" Brandi asked coming closer.

"Told him…that…Sarge…doesn't…let…" Ponch couldn't finish he ended up falling over laughing his head off. The door swung open and Jon walked in.

"Frank Poncherello you're crazy! You could've told me that pen was broken," Jon said he was trying to keep a straight face. There was a big splotch of pen ink on his uniform shirt.

"I did," Ponch replied laughing still.

Jon put his hands on his hips, then decided he'd help Ponch up so he reached a hand out to his friend. Ponch gladly took it, and as soon as Ponch was up Jon hugged him tightly making sure to smear some pen ink on his uniform shirt too. "There, now let's see what Getraer says about someone getting pen ink on their shirt," Jon said with a grin.

Ponch got wide eyes. "Jonathan Baker!"

Brandi and Nikki couldn't help but just laugh at the two friends. "And they're supposed to be professional," Nikki whispered to Brandi in a teasing way.

Brandi giggled. "Uh-huh, best CHP officers in LA I heard…" she replied.

Then Ponch and Jon turned to the girls both making a face at them. Eventually all four were laughing about this.

oOoOo

Nikki was once again sitting at her computer screen on Facebook. She didn't understand why she even got on any more when she already knew the pain it caused her. But just getting on, and pretending she had friends was mainly what it was. She had a lot of people she'd friended, most of them were never on, a good portion of them were family members or people she'd never met before. Very few were actual friends. Ponch was almost never on. It drove her crazy! He preferred Twitter, of which he was on that, and snapchat almost all the time. Nikki rarely ever did anything on either. She was more of a Facebook person.

Brandi came and sat beside her, she turned on the TV and started to watch the news. Something that neither one of them actually watched, but they turned it on as a background noise in case they needed to hear something important. Because one time it was the only way of them knowing that Jon had been injured.

"That was a great meal, wasn't it?" Brandi asked turning on her laptop.

"Yes it was, and the show we got before it was terrific!" She replied laughing slightly remembering the break room.

"I'll never forget the look on Getraer's face when he saw their uniforms," Brandi said laughing.

Nikki also laughed about that. They laughter lasted a while, then it suddenly stopped when Brandi started talking to Jon on Facebook. She was so wrapped up in the conversation that Nikki decided to find something else to do. She sent a message to Ponch, and just as always it was left unreplied for what seemed like a million hours, but it was only a couple.

"Hey, sorry I didn't reply sooner. I got super distracted with a bunch of quizzes…anyway I have to get up early. I'll talk to you tomorrow, ok?" was what he said.

Nikki was at first slightly disappointed, but then remembered, Ponch still had a life…though how he spent his time was a little annoying to her at times, she needed to respect that. She noticed most of the quizzes he'd done, because he posted the results on Facebook, of which showed her he was still there.

"Ok, sleep well baby," she said then added a smiley face. Ponch just sent a heart and some kissy faces to her then said "I love you."

Nikki was bored to death, she didn't know why she was still on, she wasn't doing anything. So she ended up just shutting her laptop off. "I'm gonna go to bed," she told Brandi. She noticed it was still really early for her to be going to bed.

Brandi was a bit concerned. "Are you alright?" she asked.

"Yes," Nikki replied nodding her head. Then she left to her room. She flopped down on the bed and stared at the ceiling. "I wish I wasn't so lonely…I wish I was prettier…like Brandi…I wish life was better…no one seems to notice me anymore. I'm apparently not that important to Ponch if he's more interested in a few stupid quizzes…" she continued to talk to herself. She just kept saying all these things to herself. "I'm the worst friend ever…I can't believe I forgot to call Amber like I said I would! She's gonna hate me…but I'm not calling now, it's too late. She's working. I wish she didn't work night shifts. I never see her anymore." Nikki rolled over and started to cry. "I hate being emotional!" she screamed into her pillow.


	3. Chapter 3

Nikki sat in her car waiting for Ponch to come out. She was picking him up. His car broke down, they wanted to go out. Suddenly her phone vibrated.

"Hello?" she answered her phone.

"Babe, I'm kinda tired…mind if we just stay home and watch a movie? You're parked out front, right?" Ponch asked.

"Yeah…" she started.

"Great! I'll come out, and move your car for you. You can come on in and make yourself comfy on the couch."

"Alrighty then," Nikki replied. She looked up and saw Ponch walking out. She tried not to laugh. He was in his pajamas. Which was a pair of short shorts and t-shirt. The thing that made her laugh was his shirt was a shirt that she had gotten him that had a Hello Kitty lego on it, then underneath it said, "My girlfriend made me wear this" She custom made it for his birthday last year. And he only wore it to bed. She rarely ever saw it, so she was happy that they were staying home and watching a movie tonight. Along with his shorts and t-shirt he had bunny slippers that she had also gotten him.

"Couldn't find better shoes…and I haven't seen you laugh in a while," Ponch said.

Nikki smiled as Ponch took her hand and helped her out of the car. "It felt good," she replied.

"Great! I'll make sure to try to get you to do it more…um there's hot coca in the kitchen…I figure we could snuggle on the couch and be comfy and cozy with hot coca while we watch our movie."

"Frank, you're too good to me," Nikki giggled. She gave him a kiss. "The shirt looks nice by the way."

"Thanks…um I'll be up to join you in a few seconds," Ponch informed.

Nikki nodded then they parted ways. She went to the apartment, and he got in her car and went to park it next to his.

 _Meanwhile…._

"Jon, I'm worried about her…I'm glad she's got Ponch…but I mean…she's been in such a low place for quite some time now," Brandi said.

"Well, if I know my partner well…of which I do, he can bring her out of it," Jon assured.

"Well that's refreshing…but Jon, seriously I'm concerned about my sister. She hasn't been the same since mom and dad disappeared. Nikki and my parents were like a trio. More the four of us were a quartet…we loved each other…I was able to find some stability and get back on my feet…Nikki…she's struggling. She's falling apart. She doesn't have very many people to talk to either…"

"Well she's always got you," Jon reminded.

"That's because I'm her twin sister. We are close, but I feel like we're drifting apart and I don't know why. She doesn't talk to me as openly any more…and she acts really strangely these days. She loves to go to work, but then anything outside of work means nothing to her! That's not the Nikki I used to know!"

Jon was stunned when Brandi suddenly raised her voice. "Whoa, calm down…Brandi, have you talked to her about this?"

"Talking to Nikki about a problem is like telling Ponch to stop eating ding dongs," Brandi said grumpily.

Jon laughed slightly. "Maybe she needs to be more open to that," Jon suggested.

"It's not that she isn't open to it, Jon…it's that I'm not able to talk about it. I don't know what words to use," Brandi complained.

"Ok, should I ask Ponch to talk to her? Aren't they together tonight?"

"I don't want to ruin a date night…this is good for her," Brandi said.

"Hey, listen Brandi, if something is wrong with your sister someone needs to find out. Besides I talked to Ponch…they aren't doing anything fancy. They are just cuddled up with hot coca watching "Dr. Dolittle" it's not that big of a deal," Jon replied.

Brandi looked at him. "Would you really do that?" she asked.

"Sure."

oOoOo

Amber White sat on the porch step of her home with her dog Lacy by her side. She wasn't exactly doing anything, just scrolling through the latest messages on her social media. When suddenly a message popped up from Brandi, 'hey, did Nikki say anything to you about why she's been acting funny?'

Amber frowned. 'no…I was gonna ask you,' she replied.

With that the conversation ended. Now Amber was curious as to what was up, so she texted Nikki.

oOoOo

Nikki's phone made noise, and she looked at it. She didn't feel like answering though. Why was everyone so concerned about her anyway? She went and sat on the couch next to Ponch.

"Oh hey?" Ponch started to ask.

"Yeah"

"I'm sorry to but in if it's not my business…but um…" he started then bit his lip.

Nikki already sensing what was about to be asked smiled sweetly. "Thanks for the concern, but I'm alright," she said.

"Oh…ok," Ponch replied then reached for the hot coca. That was when he received a text from Jon saying that they'd need to talk later after Nikki goes home.


	4. Chapter 4

Nikki left Ponch's place around ten, then Ponch sent a text to Jon. When Jon got there it was ten thirty.  
"You might as well just stay the night," Ponch suggested with a grin.

"That's what this bag is for," Jon replied dropping his bag on the floor. He then sat down on the couch beside Ponch. "Hey, can we talk for a bit then do whatever crazy thing it is you've got cooked up?" Jon asked.

"Sure," Ponch replied then smiled. "All we were gonna do was play a game," he added. Then set his Xbox control aside.

Jon grinned. "I don't wanna get my butt kicked in Halo again, Ponch," he said.

"Oh…" Ponch made a face. "We can play something else…anyway what's wrong?"

"It's about Nikki…" Jon started.

Ponch looked a little confused. "What about Nikki?" he asked.

"Have you noticed anything about her?"

"She's gorgeous, Jon!"

"Besides that," Jon said irritated.

Ponch just stared at him for a few minutes silently with a blank expression, no words came to mind. He shook his head. He would've said no, but then the look in Jon's eyes told him that wasn't a good enough answer so he decided to think a little harder. Ponch was racking his brain trying to figure out what it is Jon would want to know about Nikkie.

It was beginning to become obvious to Jon that Ponch didn't know, and almost amusing the expression on Ponch's face as he looked so confused. The silence was just making Ponch's mind wander to other places now, and he hated it! So finally he had to say something.

"Jon, I don't know what's going on…she seemed fine when she was here. But I did notice that lately she hasn't been as happy," Ponch informed.

Jon nodded. "Ok, well here's what I know. I talked to Brandi tonight…apparently lately Nikki has started to avoid people. She hasn't been as social as she used to. A lot of it is connected to the fact that he parents have been missing for a while…"

"Oh…" Ponch stared at the floor listening to Jon talk.

"Anyway, Brandi is really concerned, and she was hoping you'd talk to Nikki for her. She can't seem to get through to her. She just doesn't know how to talk about it," Jon asked.

Ponch nodded. "Of course I'll talk to her," he said.

 _Meanwhile in another part of town_

Amber sat next to Brandi in the doctors lounge. Brandi and Amber had to work tonight, Nikki got the night off. Brandi held a cup of coffee in her hands trying to warm them up. She was cold. It was a slow night, so she wasn't sure how long she would be in here. Amber looked at her, she seemed to be in her own little world.

"Are you alright, Brandi?" she asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"You're really quiet," Amber replied.

"I'm sorry, just worried about Nikkie," Brandi admitted.

"Is something wrong? I think this is the first time we've ever worked a shift without her."

"She got the night off, she was with Ponch till ten," Brandi replied.

"Ahh…how's that goin'? She like him?"

"Yeah, they both like each other. I'm not sure how long the relationship will last…"

Amber raised an eye brow then sat down. "What makes you say that?" she asked.

"I don't know, Nikki said that she thinks that Ponch deserves better…but I think Ponch is pretty happy right now…I think it's just Nikkie. So…yeah Nikki might be the one to break it up if they ever break up," Brandi said.

"Wow, that's odd. Nikki's being a little odd…she ok?"

"I don't know if she's ok or not," Brandi snapped, suddenly angry.

Amber was in shock with the reaction she had gotten, "Um…alrighty then…I'm gonna get back to work," she said then got up.

Brandi mentally was beating herself up for snapping at her friend. "I'm sorry, Amber," she apologized.

"It's alright. I'd be upset too if my sister was acting strange and I didn't know why," Amber said then patted Brandi on the shoulder. "Hopefully you'll get this all sorted out," she added. Then walked off.

Brandi slammed her cup of coffee down on the table so hard that it broke. "God I'm not ready for this. I need your help! I need to know what is wrong with my sister, please!" Brandi practically yelled at God. She was upset, and when she was upset that was her best way of praying before she calmed down.

oOoOo

Nikki stood in the bathroom in front of the mirror removing the make up from her face that she had applied earlier. Nikki wished she wasn't all alone, being alone wasn't a good thing for her. She felt very lonely, she wished she was still with Ponch, but she felt like she wasn't good enough for him. Nikki had been telling herself time and time again that she would never be good enough for Ponch. So with that mind set, she figured she might as well stop trying. Being with him tonight was fun, but it hurt.

Nikki had so much fun, but it hurt. She had convinced herself that she wasn't good enough for Ponch, and he deserved better, so it hurt her to have fun with him. Knowing that she might have to leave…she wanted to end her life. She looked in the mirror, and all she saw was a mess.

She wished she looked more like Brandi. Brandi always looked good, even if she was upset. What Nikki never realized was that she was also very beautiful too. She wanted to end all this pain. She wanted her parents back, she wanted more friends so she wouldn't feel so lonely, she wanted to feel more love she wanted more than what she had, but that was because she didn't realize what she did have.

She looked at the counter and saw a knife blade laying out. She knew why it was there. It was there for the same reason it was always there for…it was there for her. She used it in her lowest points, of which strangely enough happened to be every time after coming home from being with friends. She had convinced herself she wasn't good enough…they wouldn't be there for her all the time, she didn't need them…all these thoughts kept running through her mind, and Nikki was in tears.

All this pain she was in she wanted it to stop, her head was beginning to hurt with all the thoughts, and her vision was blurry from the tears. She took the knife blade and lightly sliced it across her skin on her forearm. Very careful on where she was cutting. It felt great, the physical pain to her got her mind off of all the emotional pain. Once she was finished she cleaned up her cuts and bandaged them.

This was only the second time she'd done this, and the second time she'd felt relief. She felt good…she knew she couldn't keep it up for too long, someone would find out and stop her. But she did know that she was coming up with a bigger plan for what she would do, when the right time came…if it got any farther.


	5. Chapter 5

"Hey you have to come out."

"But it's too cold…"

"Come on, I know it's cold believe me I'm standing outside in the cold…but you need to get out here where it's safe," the young man replied.

The young blonde reluctantly climbed out of her hiding spot, a shiver ran down her spine as soon as she stepped foot outside, and climbed down the ladder. "Why did I have to come outside?" she asked.

"Honey, I told you a million times that tree house isn't very safe yet," the man replied.

"Daddy you're no fun anymore," the young blonde pouted.

"I just want to keep you safe," Dan told his daughter Lacy.

Seven year old Lacy just stared up at her father and smiled. "Alright then, Daddy…I'll race you inside for a cup of coffee," she added quickly already bolting towards the door.

Dan smiled, how could he say no to that? He began to go after his daughter but then he tripped over a toy that had been laying out carelessly, Dan began to tumble to the ground, meeting it with a loud thud, and Dan wasn't getting back up. Lacy turned her head.

"Daddy!?" she screamed and came running. She knelt beside him and began crying he wasn't responsive to her. When he hit the ground he had hit his head and lost consciousness. Lacy was crying for help, she was only seven years old and not sure at the moment what she was supposed to do.

She was thankful that next door to them a guy named Logan Hanks, he and his wife were both police officers and off duty today. Abby and Logan both came rushing out of their home when they heard little Lacy's cries for help.

"Logan, call 9-1-1," Abby ordered as she went over to see what had happened.

Logan nodded and went back into the house.

Abby went and knelt down beside Dan. "What happened, Lacy?" she asked.

"I…I don't know," Lacy replied her voice very shaken. She was afraid she would be losing her daddy too. She had already lost her mom a few years back.

"Hey, don't worry Lacy everything is going to be alright," Logan said trying to calm her down when he returned.

"The ambulance is on the way," he informed Abby.

Abby nodded her head and began to check Dan out for injuries it was obvious it was all mostly just a head injury. Soon two motorcycle officers showed up to the scene.

"Hey, we were nearby, figured we could stop and help. What's going on?" Jon asked kneeling down beside Logan.

"Looks like he tripped on this toy on his way inside…does that sound about right, Lacy?" Logan asked.

Lacy nodded her head slightly. "That sounds like…w-w-what could've…h-h-happened," she replied then began to cry harder. "It's all my fault!" she sobbed.

Ponch looked at her, "Hey baby it's not your fault, anyone could've left that toy out," he assured her.

"But it's my toy…"

"That doesn't mean you left it out…don't you let other neighbor kids play with it?" Ponch offered.

Lacy nodded while wiping her eyes.

Ponch gave her a side hug. "What's your name, sweetheart?" Ponch asked.

"L-Lacy…"

"Lacy, I'm Ponch," Ponch replied reaching his hand out for a hand shake.

She shook his hand. "Ponch, is daddy gonna be ok?"

"I'm sure he'll be just fine. They're gonna take him to some of the best doctors and nurses in all of L.A.," Ponch assured her.

Lacy's eyes light up with a glimmer of hope. "Really?"

"Really."

Jon, Abby, and Logan all shared smiles thankful that Ponch was there to cheer Lacy up again. And soon Dan was loaded up in the ambulance.

 _Meanwhile…_

Nikkie, Brandi, and Amber all came in to start their shift when they saw Ponch, Jon, Logan and Abby leaving the hospital they'd stayed a long time with Lacy to make sure that Dan was alright. His injury turned out more severe in his head than they thought and he was in ICU but the doctors said that would only be for a day or so. Ponch told Lacy the good thing about that was that Ponch's girlfriend was a nurse in ICU.

As soon as Nikki walked through the door she was greeted by Lacy. "Hi there, are you Nikki?" she asked.

"Y-yeah…" she replied a bit startled.

"Sorry if I startled you…Ponch told me you'd be working tonight. My daddy is gonna be here a few days. Ponch said you're one of best nurses here in the ICU. He told me all about you…it was easy to figure out which one you were," Lacy said.

Nikki smiled slightly.

Brandi, and Amber laughed. "Looks like you've got a friend," Amber teased.

"You two must be Amber and Brandi…Ponch told me you two would be here too. He said you two weren't as good as HIS Nikki," Lacy said with smirk.

"Oh is that so?" Brandi asked.

Lacy nodded. "Yep, just ask him. He's on his way out right now," Lacy said pointing towards Ponch.

Ponch smiled. "Bye guys!"

"Whoa whoa, wait a minute, Ponch," Brandi said.

"What?" Ponch asked stopping.

"What do you mean we aren't as good as Nikkie?"

"Well…Nikki is my babe…you'd expect me to think more highly of her, wouldn't you?" Ponch replied with a smile. Then he kissed Nikki. "I'll see you tomorrow, Nikki," he added.

Nikki nodded.

Brandi and Amber watched Ponch leave with the other officers.

"He's something else, Nikki," Amber said.

"Yeah he is…I like it though," Nikki replied.

"Yeah…if you like it so much you better keep it," Brandi said.

Nikki made a face at Brandi. She wanted Ponch to keep her so badly…but she knew on the inside that if that was going to happen a lot needed to change, and if it was going to change the changes needed to happen soon. But when was soon?


	6. Chapter 6

_The room was very cold and dark, Nikki was crying her eyes out as she prayed using every word in her four year old vocabulary that she knew to use that she thought would save her father. Nothing seemed to be working though as the paramedics kept working and one fireman kept having to pull her away she was screaming and tears were flowing from her brown eyes._

 _"Don't leave me, Daddy!" she cried._

 _In a desperate attempt to save her dad herself, with all her might she jabbed her elbow into the side of the fireman's knee, and as his grip around her loosened she rushed to her father's side. Collapsing beside him, she ran her fingers through his hair, something he always did for her…hoping that might help._

 _"Don't leave me," she said to him. She bit down on her bottom lip so hard it was beginning to bleed, she was terrified. She looked at the two paramedics, she couldn't read their name plates. They were both working to save her father…but could they do it?_

 _Soon the ambulance arrived, and for four year old little Nikki the whole world around her suddenly began to get crowded and busy. Full of strange people, none of which she knew, none were family…her dad was being taken from her to a hospital…and for all she knew he could be dead…_

oOoOo

Nikki woke up in a cold sweat, with tears filling her eyes. She hadn't had a nightmare of losing her father in years, all those memories must've been stirred up when she saw Lacy today. Nikki sat up in bed hugging her knees to her chest and crying. She wasn't sure what to do, she couldn't sleep…She wasn't going to go bother Brandi. She saw the street light that came in through the window hit the table just right that it shone brightly on her phone, as if God was telling her to call Ponch.

Nikki slowly moved closer to the bedside table and grabbed her phone, she unlocked the screen and went to the contacts. Finding Ponch right away, she called him…now it was time for her to wait.

 _Meanwhile at Ponch's apartment_

Ponch was laying in bed cuddled up in his nice warm blanket when he heard his phone start to ring…interrupting his slumber. Just like anyone in the world would be, Ponch rolled over irritated and grabbed his phone, and answered it. "Hello?" he answered with a yawn.

"H-H-Hi," Nikki said her voice was a little shaky from her crying still.

Judging by the time, her tone of voice, and the type of people she had to deal with, Ponch thought something terrible must've happened to her, instantly he sat up a little straighter "Are you ok? Do I need to come pick you up? What happened?" Ponch asked.

"I'm gonna be fine," Nikki replied trying to sound calm. "I just needed to talk to someone," she added her voice a little quieter.

"Where are you?" Ponch asked.

"Home," she replied.

Ponch smiled and relaxed quite a bit after that statement. "Alrighty then…what's up, babe?" he asked then yawned. "And you know it's two A.M., right?"

"Yeah…I just…I had a dream…more like a nightmare," Nikki replied.

"Aww, sorry…" Ponch replied.

Nikki was silent. She and Ponch talked for a while, then when they said goodbye Nikki went back to bed. Ponch however had to get up and get ready for work.

When Ponch got to work he was really tired, he went and sat in the briefing room and started to fall asleep, soon Jon walked in. When Jon saw Ponch falling asleep he laughed slightly.

"Stayed up too late last night, huh?" he teased.

Ponch glared at Jon. "Nah, Nikki called early this morning…she had a nightmare," Ponch replied. "Kept me up the rest of the night," he added with a yawn.

"Aww sorry," Jon said.

"Don't be sorry, I love Nikki I don't care if she keeps me up."

 _Meanwhile…._

Nikki sat on the couch beside Ponch later that night.

"Oh, I was gonna ask you…I thought ya had no make up…last time you came…" Ponch started.

"I borrowed some from Brandi," Nikki replied then grabbed a blanket.

Ponch smiled. "It looked really nice," he told her.

"Thanks." Nikki and Ponch both chatted about random things for a while. Then Ponch started to fall asleep.

Nikki got up. "I gotta get going, Ponch," she informed.

Ponch nodded and yawned while stretching. "Ok," he said trying to get up. He wrapped his arms around Nikki in a tight hug then gave her a kiss. "I love you," he said.

"Love you too," Nikki said trying to hold in the tears that she felt forming in her eyes.

Ponch saw one of them start to fall, and wiped it away. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing," she replied.

"Nikki, what's wrong?" Ponch asked.

"Nothing," she said wiping away the tears that kept falling. "I need to leave," she said quickly then rushed for the door.

Ponch grabbed her hand. "Babe, I can't let you leave like this…did I do something wrong?" Ponch asked.

"Ponch…I…I can't do this…" Nikki said then ran out the door, leaving Ponch behind, and very confused.


	7. Chapter 7

Ponch was still very confused as to why Nikki had just ran out the door like that. Ponch grabbed his coat and threw on a pair of shoes, he ran out the door and looked for Nikki.

Nikki was pulling out of the parking lot.

"Nikki!" Ponch called.

Nikki didn't even look back as she left. She heard her name being called over and over, and then after a while she did finally look back. When she took that one second to look back she didn't see where her car was going and crashed it into a light post, she got out of the car and ran.

Ponch was confused as he saw her just take off running. "Nikki!?" he called.

"NO! Leave me alone!" she cried as she kept running. She just kept running and running until she ran to a taxi and got in.

Ponch watching this confused quickly pulled out his phone and called Jon. After talking with Jon he texted Brandi. He had no clue what was going on right now, and this was scaring him.

Soon Ponch saw Jon's truck pull up, Ponch got in right away. "Jon you have to find her, right now," he said.

"Ponch, I'll do my best. But I don't know where to look first," Jon replied honestly.

"Well just started driving. They turned that way," Ponch said pointing Jon in the right direction.

Jon nodded his head. The whole ride was pretty much silent besides occasionally Ponch freaking out over the fact that he didn't know what was going on, and somehow this must've been his fault.

Suddenly Jon felt a hand smack him really hard in the chest.

"Jon, there she is!" Ponch said as he pointed out the window.

Jon was busy rubbing his sore chest wondering why Ponch even hit him in the first place. It was most likely just to get him to stop. Jon looked to the right, and slammed on the breaks. "Wait, that's her?" he asked noticing a woman standing on the bridge over the freeway about to jump. Ponch was already about to get out of the truck.

"Hey wait a minute, don't get out yet, buddy…you need to have a plan," Jon said.

"And I've got one," Ponch said shaking his arm free then he got out and lightly closed the door.

He slowly walked up behind her. He could her muttering things under her breath, he wasn't sure why she was saying what she was saying, and it was a little sad to hear.

The sky was dark and clear, and there was a cool breeze that was playing with Nikki's hair. It was late at night, and there were a lot of cars underneath the bridge, the sounds of car horns, and screeching tires also filled the air.

Ponch slowly came up behind her, "Nikki?"

"Ponch? Get away from me," Nikki said quickly. Suddenly moving closer to the edge.

"Hey, I don't want you to jump. Please, come away from there…you're scaring me."

Nikki stared at him. "Ponch I can't…I have to jump," Nikki said.

"Lady, you've got so much to live for!" Ponch said grabbing her hand.

Nikki shook her head and pulled her hand away. "No…I don't," she replied.

"Honey, you've got a long life left. Why end it now? You've got plenty of things going for you. You've got a sister who cares about you, a best friend, Jon, a good job…me…what would I do without you, Nikki?"

"You deserve better, Ponch," Nikki replied.

Ponch almost laughed. "Nikki Mitchell you listen to me, there isn't a woman in this world that I'd rather spend my life with," Ponch replied.

"Coming from someone like Ponch that means a lot," Jon added joining them.

Nikki looked over at him. "Guys I don't know…"

"Come on, girl…don't end your life. Think about Brandi, she's worried sick about you," Jon said.

"Brandi?" Nikki asked.

Jon nodded.

There was complete silence for a while, Nikki stepped away from the edge, fell into Ponch's arms, and just began sobbing.


	8. Chapter 8

Nikki was still crying in Ponch's arms when Brandi arrived on the scene, Jon had called her as soon as they found Nikki. She came as soon as she could. When she found her sister in tears and so close to the edge it had frightened her, but then as she got out of her car she noticed that she wasn't as close to the edge as it had seemed, and she was protected…she was safe in Ponch's arms…he wasn't going to let her fall, or jump.

Brandi slowly walked towards them, the wind was blowing and playing with her hair, so as she walked she kept moving her hair out of her face.

As she inched closer she could now hear her sister crying on Ponch, and it broke her heart to see this scene. She wished that she could've been there for Nikki when she needed someone, and wondered why Nikkie never said anything to her.

"N-Nikki?" she started.

Nikki looked up and saw her sister standing there and instantly she went to her, she wrapped her arms around Brandi and started to cry. "Brandi I'm so sorry! I didn't realize how much I was hurting everyone around me with the stupid choices I make…" Nikki sobbed.

Brandi patted Nikki on the back as she hugged her tightly. "It's ok, hun…you're gonna be fine. I'm not upset with you. I forgive you, and I'm sure everyone else does too. Just…please don't do this again. I was worried sick about you," Brandi replied.

Nikki nodded while trying to dry her tears.

Ponch and Jon walked over to them.

"Thanks so much for saving her life, Ponch," Brandi said.

Ponch nodded "Anytime," he replied.

oOoOo

Brandi, Nikki, Jon, Amber, and Ponch all sat together in a booth at Taco Bell laughing and having fun. For Nikki it was nice to have fun again. Ever since that scene back on the bridge she'd gotten a lot more attention from her friends and was never allowed to be alone, on top of that she had to see someone to get some help with her severe depression issue. For the first few sessions though Nikki was denying she had a depression issue, but after a while it was harder to deny it.

Once she started going regularly to her sessions she was beginning to get better, and everyone noticed a change in her…a good change. She had to take a few weeks off work to get back on her feet, something she should've done a while back when she first had started having her problems.

Ponch sat beside Nikki with a huge smile on his face, just happy to see her in a good mood again.

She smiled at him. "What's with the smile?" she asked quietly.

"I'm just glad that you're doing better," Ponch replied then gave her a soft kiss on the forehead.

Nikki smiled slightly and looked down at the table, she grabbed Ponch's hand so that she could hold it under the table, something she'd always wanted to do, but never did.

"I'm so happy you're ok," Ponch said to her as he put and arm around her and gave her a kiss.

"I'm happy to be ok too, Ponch," she replied with a smile.

Ponch smiled at her, as he looked at her he couldn't imagine what it would be like if she wasn't sitting beside him. He couldn't imagine life without her, if she had actually jumped that night…he was more than thankful that she was doing better, and he was able to save her from what could've been the worst mistake ever. It was well known that even if she did jump, she might not have died from that…there was a possibility she could have survived, and then she'd have to live with that. Another thing she wouldn't like to deal with.

Looking back, Nikki knew full well she didn't have anywhere near enough courage to actually jump…she didn't have the guts to go over the edge, it was just easier on her mind to play with the idea. She loved the idea of ending her life so much at the time, that the thought of jumping off that bridge was almost thrilling. Not that dying was really a thrilling experience, but to a depressed, and suicidal person, the thought of leaving the world is almost breathtaking. You want that so bad, it will end all your pain, and that's what she wanted.

As she looked back though she realized that wasn't truly what she had wanted at all, she just wanted a way to relieve all this stress, and pain. Death wasn't the answer…she didn't really want to die. She just wanted help, but she had no idea where to turn to for the help she needed, in her mind no one would help her…no one loved her…no one cared, right? Well at that bridge she learned a good lesson, the people around her did care. They did want to help!

Nikki smiled at her friends and family sitting with her, it felt good to be with them and happy again. Nothing felt better than this…if only she'd have talked to someone sooner. It would take a while to get fully back to her normal self for good, but Nikki was ready for it. And everyone sitting with her now was ready to help her along the way.


End file.
